- Erling Porsild
Alf Erling Porsild (1901 - 1977) was a Danish-Canadian botanist. He was born in
Copenhagen as a son of the botanist M.P. Porsild. He grew up on the Arctic Station inQeqertarsuaq , WestGreenland , where he acted as assistant to his father. Between 1936-1945, he wascurator at theNational Museum of Canada ,Ottawa , and from 1945 to 1967 he was head of the department ofbotany there. The wrote a number of scienfic treatises on theflora of theCanadian Arctic Archipelago and of theRocky Mountains , as well as numerous popular papers and books.He borrowed the term
pingo fromInuit and made it a scientific and vernacular term (first use in 1938). Porsild Pingo in Tuktoyaktuk is named in his honor. So isMount Porsild in theYukon Territory ,Canada .He was awarded the
Massey Medal in 1966.elected works
*Porsild, A.E. (1920) Sur le poids et les dimensions des graines arctiques. Revue Générale de Botanique 32: 97-120.
*Porsild, A.E. (1926) Contributions to the Flora of West-Greenland at 70°-71°45´ N. lat.Meddelelser om Grønland vol. 58 (2)
*Porsild, A.E. (1941) A relic flora on sand dunes from theChamplain Sea in the Ottawa Valley. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 55: 66-72.
*Porsild, A.E. (1951) Botany of Southeastern Yukon adjacent to the Canol Road. Bulletin /National Museum of Canada vol. 121 (also Biological series /National Museum of Canada vol. 41), 400 pp.
*Porsild, A.E. (1953) Edible plants of the Arctic. Illustrated byDagny Tande Lid . The Arctic 6: 15-34. [http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/Arctic6-1-15.pdf Full text]
*Porsild, A.E. (1955) The vascular plants of the Western Canadian Arctic archipelago. Bulletin /National Museum of Canada vol. 135 (also Biological series /National Museum of Canada vol. 45), 226 pp.
*Porsild, A.E. (1957) Illustrated Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Illustrated byDagny Tande Lid . Bulletin /National Museum of Canada vol. 146. 209 pp.
*Porsild, A.E., C.R. Harington & G.A. Mulligan (1967) "Lupinus arcticus " Wats. grown from seeds ofPleistocene age. Science 158 (3797): 113-114. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.158.3797.113]
*Porsild, A.E. (1974) Rocky Mountain wild flowers. Illustrated byDagny Tande Lid . Ottawa, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 454 pp.
*Porsild A.E. & Cody, William J. (1980) Vascular plants of continental Northwest Territories, Canada. Ottawa, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 667 pp.External links
[http://www.arktiskebilleder.dk/siulleq/store/gr18924.jpgErling Porsild with friend and sledge 1909; Photo by M.P. Porsild]
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